Clashes across West Bank

Clashes broke out Wednesday night and early Thursday morning between Palestinians demonstrating solidarity with Gaza and Israeli soldiers in Hebron and the southern West Bank. Two Palestinians were killed near Bethlehem and Palestinian commandos opened fire on an Israeli patrol.

Protest in Hebron earlier this week in solidarity with Gaza/Photo: Hebron Defense Committee

Clashes broke out in Beit Ummar and the al Aroub refugee camp, both located to the north of Hebron. Local witnesses report that the Israeli troops took over the roofs of area homes and shoot at demonstrators.

In the Old City of Hebron, demonstrators threw incendiary bombs at soldiers.

In Husan, a Palestinian village to the west of Bethlehem two Palestinians were killed on Tuesday while participating in demonstrations.

Mahmoud Hamamra, 32, was killed by Israeli forces while participating in a local protest. Palestinians threw stones and launched fireworks at Israeli troops before being bombarded with stun grenades, tear gas, live and rubber-coated ammunition. Bystanders suggested that Hamamra had been hit in the chest. He was rushed to hospital in the nearby town of Beit Jala, before being transferred and declared dead at Hebron’s al-Mizan hospital. Two others were severely injured in the protest.

In the evening, his cousin Mohammed Qasem Hamamra, 19, died of wounds sustained in the same clashes.

In Selwad, a village near Ramallah, two Palestinians were injured in clashes with soldiers at the entrance to the village. Local residents reported that Israeli soldiers held up the ambulance for thirty minutes.

One Israeli soldier was injured in demonstrations that took place Wednesday night in the village of Kfar Tel, north east of Nablus.

In the northern West Bank Palestinians opened fire Thursday morning at an Israeli patrol near the settlement of Itamar.

A large number of Israeli forces were sent to the area, searching for the shooters. A similar situation happened on Tuesday at the Qalandiya checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem.